Instructional materials to teach airway reflexes: development of cordel literature and comics

The respiratory system encompasses a complex network of neural mechanisms that regulate not only ventilation and gas exchange but also vital protective reflexes such as coughing, sneezing, and swallowing. These reflexes are clinically relevant and functionally critical for maintaining airway integrity, especially in medical and surgical contexts. Moreover, they offer rich interdisciplinary potential by linking concepts from respiratory physiology, neurophysiology, and motor control. This study aimed to develop supplementary instructional materials using cordel literature, a traditional Brazilian poetic genre, and comic books to facilitate the teaching of airway reflexes in higher education. An extensive literature review was conducted focusing on six key reflexes: cough, expiration, sneeze, swallowing, laryngeal adduction, and the laryngeal chemoreflex. Based on this review, instructional resources were created combining scientific accuracy with accessible and culturally meaningful formats. The cordel texts used rhythmic and metaphorical language to support memorization and learner engagement, whereas the comics employed symbolic and anthropomorphized characters to visually represent neurophysiological processes. Although these materials have not yet been implemented in classroom settings, they present a creative and low-cost strategy to enrich physiology education and support more inclusive and contextualized learning.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This report describes the creation of instructional materials, cordel literature, and comic strips, focused on airway reflexes, a topic of high clinical and physiological relevance. The materials address six key airway reflexes through poetic and visual narratives. Although not yet applied in classroom settings, they were designed to promote scientific understanding, accessibility, and cultural resonance, offering a supplementary tool for engaging students with complex physiological content.